Alternity (11 page)

“Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn’t feeling well and decided to go home about five minutes after I got there. I, um, came home and crashed hardcore.”

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line, and then: “But I came by your place after my shift. I rang the buzzer over and over.”

“My roommate went home for the weekend,” I told him, though I had no idea if that was actually true. “And like I said, I really crashed. You know, not having had a good night’s sleep in ages. I don’t think stampeding elephants could have woken me last night.”

“You sure you just didn’t have another guy over or something?” Craig asked. His voice was only half teasing.

I forced myself to laugh, trying to push a sudden image of Dawn out of my mind. After all, being brutally kissed by dream guys in postapocalyptic alleyways didn’t count as cheating, did it?

“No, no. Nothing as exciting as all that,” I lied. “Just lots of drooling on my pillow.”

Craig’s laugh sounded more genuine this time. “Okay, okay,” he relented. “So, what are you up to now?”

Oh, not much. Just playing alternate reality travel agent to the postapocalyptic crowd
.

“Oh, not much, just doing some work on the old computer.”

“Want me to come over?”

“Um …” I glanced at the clock. Did I want him to come over? Not really. I’d have much preferred to curl up in a ball and fall asleep for the next forty-eight hours. But I knew that wasn’t really an option. Duske told me that after the photos uploaded he’d be calling me back to Terra. And when/if that happened, I wanted a witness. Someone to let me know exactly what happened after I blacked out and woke up in Terra. Did my body literally disappear with my mind, sucked into some kind of alternate reality wormhole? Or did I fall into a comalike sleep and only travel in my dreams?

“Skye? Are you still there?”

“Yeah,” I replied, making my decision. “And sure. Come on over whenever you can.”

“Great.” I could hear his relief. “I’m not far from your place, actually. I’ll be there in, like, ten minutes. Want me to pick up something from Blue Ribbon for dinner?” he asked, naming my favorite Japanese sushi spot.

“Oh, yum. Yes. I’m totally in the mood for their veggie spring rolls,” I told him. “And add in an order of edamame as well, okay? See you soon.” I hung up the phone and set it down next to my computer in case he called back for clarification of my food order. Poor guy. All things considered, he’d been pretty patient through my continued mental collapse. Cheerful, loyal, supportive—save for a few zombie jokes. Even when I’d been nothing but a pain in the ass.

I forced my brain back on task and pressed upload, launching the final photo into cyberspace, wondering, not for the first time, where these pictures were actually being zapped. Perhaps the URL was linked to a sort of interdimensional Photo-Mart where Duske could pick them up in an hour? It seemed insane, but hell, if they could send
people
to other worlds, I guess photos would be nothing.

The on-screen message confirmed my pictures had been sent. I leaned back in my computer chair, wondering what would happen next. Would Duske e-mail me back? Would he give me a call? Or would I never hear from him again and live out my whole life wondering at the validity of my memory of this adventure? If I had to pick, I’d go for door number three every time.

But life was no game of Deal or No Deal, and I didn’t get to choose my destiny. A moment later the whole dorm started to shake, just as Luna had the night before. Flashes of lightning sliced through the air and my stomach rolled as I swam in and out of a blurry, dizzy consciousness.

Finally, just as before, the darkness came and oblivion gripped me with invisible hands.

Oh God, here we go again.

TEN

I open my eyes. At least this time I know what to expect, though that doesn’t really make the experience any more comforting. Once again, a tiny room. Video screens on all four walls, a nauseating kaleidoscope of color.

Yup, I’m back. Once more with feeling.

I smack the wall with the palm of my hand, frustrated beyond belief. I can’t believe Duske dragged me back here to this hellhole yet again. At least he could have waited till Craig showed up with dinner. Not that I care about the calories; I’m more concerned with the fact that he’s going to think I took off on him again. I imagine him showing up at my door, vegetarian goodies in hand, only to have no one answer the intercom. He’ll probably end by breaking up with me. I wouldn’t blame him if he did, either. I mean, how can I even explain what’s happened in a manner that he could possibly begin to believe?

I shake my head, ripping off my glasses. I’ve got bigger things to worry about than a boyfriend’s disappointment, and I need to concentrate on those. Say, for example, the interdimensional travel I just experienced a moment ago. There’s no way I can pretend this is all some kind of weird dream anymore. Whatever’s happening to me, it’s all real, and I need to deal with it and figure out a permanent way back home. I do not want to be stuck here in Terra for any reason, and I don’t want to be dragged back and forth at someone else’s whim.

I push the button in front of me and the booth’s front panel slides open with a high-pitched whine. Stepping out into the hallway, I find Duske standing there, right where I left him. How long have I been gone, Terra time-wise? Is it like Narnia in reverse, where twenty-four hours on Earth pass in just a few minutes here? I glance down at myself. I’m still wearing the same dress I wore when I entered the booth. The necklace is back around my neck. And a surreptitious sniff at my armpits tells me I can’t have been inside that sweatbox for twenty-four hours. There’s definitely something slippery with the way time’s working here.

Duske bows low. “Welcome back, Skye,” he says with a flourish of his hand. “It’s lovely to see you again, my dear.”

I scowl. I’m not buying his pleasantries this time around. “I’d love to say the same,” I counter. “But really, I’ve got to tell you, I’m not very happy about being dragged back. I was just about to have lunch with my boyfriend and I’ve got a ton of homework to do.” I cross my arms under my breasts and throw him an annoyed look. “I mean, I took your photos like you asked. I uploaded them into the system. So, how about you fulfill your end of the bargain and let me go back to my real life?” I can’t believe how confident and cool I sound, considering on the inside I’m totally freaking out.

Duske smiles patronizingly. “My dear, dear Skye,” he coos. “I’m so sorry if I’ve upset your lunch plans. But I did warn you. Your services are needed at my Moongazing seminar two nights from now. There will be Indys from all over Terra gathered in the Luna Park auditorium waiting to hear all about Earth. It will be our biggest, best presentation to date, and I need you there.”

“But why?” I demand. “Why do you need
me
?”

“Didn’t we already go over all of this?” Duske asks. “You are Terra’s first ever ambassador from Earth. You’re the only Earthling to ever pass through the interdimensional curtain and visit our little world. Who better to explain the wonders of Earth than a girl who has spent her whole life there?”

“I see your point,” I say, trying to be reasonable. “But I don’t think you see mine. I didn’t ask for this gig, and I don’t have time to take it. I’m sure there are a billion alien-abducted,
X-Files
freaks on Earth who would simply love an opportunity to travel between worlds and give motivational speeches. But I’m just too busy to be at your beck and call.”

“Yes, yes, you and your important job,” Duske says. He’s wearing a slight sneer. “Don’t you play video games for a living or something?”

I can feel my face heat. I can’t stand when people make light of the video game industry. Just because we create fun and games full time doesn’t mean our responsibilities and deadlines are frivolous, too. In fact, the designers at Chix0r take their work as seriously as a doctor would take his patients’ health and while sure, they’re not literally saving lives on the operating table, their customers will find relaxation, joy, and stress relief when they log in to any game. Which will cut down on their ulcers and high blood pressure and perhaps save them from that surgeon’s knife in the future. But try to tell anyone that and they’ll just start laughing. Whatever.

“Look, whether you respect my future career or not is moot,” I retort. “We’re talking about my life here, not some game played for your amusement.”

Duske’s lips twist, as if he’s trying to suppress a smile. I glower at him. What the hell does he find so funny? Then he shakes his head and clears his throat. “I know, I know,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shrug it away, not wanting him to touch me. “It’s a great inconvenience for you to be here. I understand.”

“Yes. It is. And I’d like to be sent home now if you don’t mind.” I look back to the Moongazing booth. “So, tell me how this thing can zap me back to Earth and I’ll be on my way.”

Duske is silent for a moment. “What if I agreed to compensate you for it? Would that make things better?”

“Compensate?” I look at him skeptically. “What would I do with Terran money?”

“Play Monopoly?” he suggests. Then he laughs. “Just kidding. I’d give you Earth dollars, of course. American currency. We’ve been farming Earth for quite some time now. Made some investments, started a few corporations. We’ve even started introducing Terran technology to your world. You lot are so far behind us it’s like introducing the abacus to apes. No offense.”

I frown. “So what are you saying? You want to pay me to speak at your seminar? How much are we talking about here?”

Duske rubs his chin with his forefinger and thumb. “Hmm,” he says thoughtfully. I narrow my eyes. He’s going to try to lowball me, isn’t he? Probably offer me like a hundred bucks or something. To him, I’m just a kid, after all. “Would one million suffice?”

I stare at him, eyes wide, doubting my ears, working to stop my jaw from dropping to the floor. Did he just say what I thought? No, that was impossible. And yet …

“Does that seem too low?” Duske asks, cocking his head. “Hmm. How about a million five, then?”

“One and a half million,” I repeat slowly. “In U.S. dollars?” I had to make sure he wasn’t confusing our currency with Japanese yen or anything.

“Yes. American money. We could deposit it directly into your account so that when you return to Earth it will be waiting for you.”

I give up on the jaw, let it drop. A million dollars? A freaking million dollars? “Are you serious?” I ask. “You’d really give me over a million dollars just for speaking at your convention?” My mind greedily races with the possibilities a million dollars could afford me. I could pay the rest of my tuition. Pay off those horrible student loans. Buy an awesome computer and maybe even a car.

Duske shrugs. “Sure, why not? It’s a good investment for me. Spending Earth dollars, of which I have many, to earn real money here on Terra. You convince a few families to purchase Earth-relocation packages and I’ll be a rich man here on my own world. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”

My mind whirs as I try to make my decision. A million and a half dollars! And all he’s asking for is two days of my life. I have to admit, it was a tempting prospect.

Duske takes my silence for a yes and gestures for me to follow him down the hall. “I’ll take you to your suite,” he says. “I’m sure you’d like to shower and change.”

It’s then that I realize I have very little choice in the matter. Whether I accept his money or not, it seems there’s no way he’s going to send me back to Earth until I give my little speech at his seminar. And arguing with him about it may only cause the monetary offer to be rescinded. All in all, it seems best to play along, at least for now. After all, what alternative do I have? It’s not like I can just click my heels three times.

I tune back in, resigned to accept my fate. At least temporarily.

“And I do apologize,” Duske is saying, “but I must insist you remain in your assigned room until the convention. It’s too dangerous for you to be wandering out and about in Luna Park. Those vile Eclipsers may try to kidnap you again to further their pathetic rebellion.” He snorts, making it clear what he thinks of them.

The Eclipsers. In all of this craziness I’d nearly forgotten them. Glenda and her gang claim they are the ones who dragged me to this godforsaken world in the first place. What did they think when they arrived at Dawn’s house and found it empty? Discovered the framed photo of Mariah lying shattered on the ground? Did they think I’d been kidnapped? Or did they conclude I’d taken off willingly? Do they know I’m with Duske now? Or do they assume I jumped back to my own world, unwilling to play their reindeer games?

My mind flashes to Dawn’s scowling face. At least now he can go around telling the Eclipsers that he was right and they were wrong. Especially once they hear that I’ll be speaking at an actual pro-Moongazing seminar in two days. He’ll believe that his precious Mariah betrayed the revolution a second time.

I frown and hasten my step to match Duske’s long strides. Well, there is nothing I can do about that. Had I really been Mariah, I’m sure things would have been different. But they dragged out the wrong girl. Not my fault. I’m not a revolutionary. Not a rebel leader. So really, what good can I do if I stay down below in their cave world and join their rebellion?

Still, my guilty brain lectures, you didn’t have to go as far as to start helping the other side. I mean, what if the crazy guy with the placard is right? What if traveling between worlds—Moongazing—is a dangerous, even deadly, pastime that will ultimately destroy those who practice it? What if my promoting Earth travel to the masses ends up the equivalent of leading sheep to the slaughter? Am I selling out the people of Terra for a million dollars?

That’s stupid, I tell myself. Why would the government fund and promote a program that would lead to the deaths of their citizens? Totally counterproductive. Besides, I’ve ‘Gazed twice now. I feel completely fine. And the great Mariah herself, the one they’re all in love with, is a ‘Gazer. They’re probably just annoyed that she left them high and dry to go live a better life. Sure, that was pretty crappy of her, but it doesn’t make the program itself deadly and dangerous.